Learn with academic leaders

Behind every success story sits a great mentor. At UTS, those mentors are our amazing academics, from senior professors through to studio leaders. We choose our academics for many reasons. They are invariably at the top of their game, whatever their area of expertise. But they're also passionate about what they do and committed to nurturing their talented students (that's you).

They're connected to industry, looking to challenge you with amazing project briefs. They will push you in ways you didn't think possible and help you excel in all the ways that matter. We're immensely proud of what our students achieve at UTS. But those students also recognise the value of academic leadership. Find out how they can help you achieve your potential.

Prototyping new spaces in interior architecture

Studio leader Monika Proepper in the Bachelor of Design in Interior Architecture (formerly Interior & Spatial Design) challenged students with a unique project: build a prototype for a community engagement space for the Asylum Seekers Centre in Newtown. The twist? It's a bus, designed to service clients across Sydney.

Lucy: Hi, my name is Lucy and I study interior and spacial design at UTS. This semester I've been undertaking a subject called Construction in Design, and we've been working on a community engagement bus for the asylum seeker centre in Newtown.

Monika: I think it's actually quite important for the students to physically build something, especially in my subject, say construction and detailing. There's only so much to be done by just drawing. Quite different, I think, as the students have built something and then actually draw it. It just shows basically a better understanding, I think, of how things are being put together.

Lucy: So this is inside the bus. We've only worked on the back section of the bus due to the time frame. This is, in future, will be a consultancy desk. Just gives people a bit of a space to chat about if they came in. This is the sink area. We've got storage underneath. Sink on top. We also have access from the medical centre in the back so people can access the sink from the medical centre. Into the medical centre we've got a bench at the back for the patients to lie on. We've got a small desk, clock, a wedge to flatten the floor. Yeah, and that's pretty much the space that we've designed.

Monika: We had Jenny from the Asylum Seeker Centre coming in to UTS, which was great. She introduced the project and also the centre and the functions of the centre to them. And they, as part of the brief, the students, or some of the students, had to actually go into the asylum seeker centre to help out.

Jamie: After having taken a walk through this bus, it is absolutely brilliant. It really is ... It encapsulates everything in the central office on four wheels. Or six actually. And I think it's wonderful. Especially the mock up that the students have already done for the counselling and the medical bay in the back, and the other areas which they've already got on their concept drawing, is just simply brilliant. I think if something which all our clients can really benefit from. So thank you very much Monika and her entire student body for putting this together, and we hopefully will get it on the road sooner rather than later.

Lighting up Vivid Sydney

Thanks to the passion of academics like Animation leader Deborah Szapiro, works by UTS students are now a regular fixture at Vivid Sydney. Deborah has led many student teams, the latest being a large-scale projection on the Australian Maritime Museum in 2017. But every year other UTS teams are lighting up the place too.

Showcasing students to industry

Associate Professor Julie Jupp is an expert in Building Information Management systems and works closely with industry on research projects. That's great news for her Construction Project Management students who recently got to showcase their work at Skills Sync. 2nd and 4th year students got to profile their 3D model coordination and 4D construction simulation outputs to enthusiastic industry partners like Richard Crookes Construction, BuildCorp, CAD Group, FJMT Architects, and Hansen Yuncken.